in damascus, he appealed for a government of national unity. >> this government would lead the country in a transitional phase, which would end with new elections. they could be presidential elections if the parties concerned agree to it, or parliamentary elections.% >> but what role syria's president assad might play -- on that brahimi said nothing. syria's opposition has already dismissed his suggestions. hope for a rapid end to the bloodshed seems optimistic. >> syria will be the special focus later this half hour. >> we will have a special report from the turkish-syrian border. in other news, u.s. president barack obama has broken off his christmas vacation to resume talks on the so-called fiscal cliff, taxes and spending cuts unless democrats and republicans reach a deal by new year's eve. >> nearly all the major players in those negotiations are starting to agree on one thing, and that is that a deal is virtually impossible by that deadline. senior officials say there is little hope of a grand bargain to shave trillions of dollars off of america's mountain of debt. >> applause fo